1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a warehouse or structure that mass freezes and stores bulk foods and other products, and in particular to racking and chilling structures in the warehouse.
2. Description of Related Art
Two-stage freezer warehouses are known in which large pallets of items including meats, fruit, vegetables, prepared foods, and the like are frozen in blast rooms of a warehouse and then are moved to a storage part of the warehouse to be maintained at a frozen temperature until their removal. Such two-stage freezer warehouses require separate blast and storage rooms that encompass a relatively large amount of space.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/877,392 entitled “Rack Aisle Freezing System for Palletized Product”, filed on Sep. 8, 2010, relates to an improved system for freezing food products. Shown in FIG. 1 is a large warehouse 2 that is used to freeze and maintain perishable foods or like products. Large pallets of items, including meats, fruits, vegetables, prepared foods, and the like, are sent to warehouse 2 to be frozen employing a system whereby the palletized foods are frozen on storage racks.
FIG. 2 shows a top view of the interior of warehouse 2, in which rows of palleted product are shown such that pallets 4 abut chambers 6. As shown in FIG. 3, rows of racking 14 are positioned between aisles 10 and chambers 6. Each chamber 6 is enclosed by a pair of end walls 15 and top panel 17. Cold air produced in warehouse 2 is drawn through spacers 20 (FIGS. 5 and 6) separating rows of cases 22 of product on pallets 4, creating a palletized product stack which is disposed and sealed against the exterior of racking 14 (FIG. 3) via forklifts 18.
Chillers 8 (FIG. 2) provided in the interior of warehouse 2 produce the cold air and maintain the temperature of ambient air within the warehouse space at a level below freezing. A plurality of racking structures 14 (FIGS. 3 and 4) each define a plurality of adjacent air flow chambers 6 (FIGS. 2 and 4) having air intake openings on opposite sides thereof and a plurality of air outlets having air moving devices, such as exhaust fans 12, on top panels 17, which causes freezing air to be drawn into chambers 6 through intake openings and to then exhaust into the warehouse space. The plurality of airflow chambers 6 are each defined by a pair of end walls 15 and top wall 17 having one or more air outlets and exhaust fans associated therewith (FIG. 3). Pallets 4 on pallet guides are pressed against the intake openings such that a seal is formed between the pallets and the intake openings via side periphery seals, a bottom periphery seal, and a top periphery seal that is selectively adjustable via a vertically manually adjustable bracket to which the top periphery seal attaches. The seals together define each intake opening. Freezing air is drawn through air pathways 16 (FIGS. 2, 4, and 5) within the palletized product in a direction towards chamber 6 to thereby quickly freeze the product. As shown in FIG. 5, spacers 20 may be placed between rows of cases 22 of product to provide air pathways 24 through which air flow can enter chamber 6.
While the top periphery seal may be adjusted via the corresponding bracket, a manual adjustment is required before product stacks of varying heights may be disposed against the intake openings such that a seal is formed between the stacks and openings. What is desired is an improvement over the foregoing.